City College of New York - Microcosm Yearbook (New York, NY)

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had tough sledding. A story hy Jerome Wcidinun of I-Can- Get-It-for-You-Wholesalc fame was attacked as anti-Catholic. chauvinistic, and in poor taste, while a later story was crit- icized as unfair to the Negro race. For a time Monthly was banned from the Commerce Center. Editors Neidcr and Dris- coll were compelled to reiterate their explanation that indi- vidual characterizations were not meant to represent a group. As a result of the Board of Higher Education's warning to the College Faculty to “take adequate action to prevent of- fensive articles and stories such as have appeared in Monthly . a warning was also directed at the Mercury of January 1938. (Dean John R. Turner announced a policy of faculty govern- ment through influence, not censorship over all student publications.) The Spring of 1938 saw Board of Higher Education Week receive more attention than it had obtained the previous year, and the Student Council sponsor a peace rally at which Spanish and Chinese envoys spoke for their respective gov- ernments. Councilman Michael Quill's thick Irish brogue proved a strong drawing card. In the new semester House Plan reached maturity. One of the numerous alumni donations enabled the House Plan As- sociation to purchase 292 Convent Avc. In honor of the donor, the building was named the Edward M. Shepard House. The vacancy which bail been created hy the sudden resignation of Mortimer Karpp was filled hy Hygiene instructor James Peace, who became the new director. The Junior Prom arrived and dwarfed all other social functions. It outdid all previous promenades, even in num- ber of directors, although Bill Tomshinskv was unofficial chairman of the chairmen. Joined hy the Junior Class of the Commerce Center, the Class Council hired the Hoof Carden of the Hotel Astor and Paul Tremaine’s Orchestra. Swamping •lie school with publicity—Petty’s cartoons attracted crowds to a billboard in the alcoves, and Martin Block's voice brought five hundred to a Great Hall rail)—resulted in one hundred seventy-five couples, who helped crown Marjorie Norton Queen, ami danced until two. Everyone had a good time hut the class treasurer. The net loss was approximately S250. During the Christmas vacation the American Student Union held a national convention at Yassar. Following the trend of the times, the Oxford pledge was dropped, and replaced hy support of collective security. To carry out this new principle, an active campaign to aid the hard-pressed Spanish Loyalist Government was started. The A.S.U. came of age when the Board of Higher Education, now controlled hy Fusion Party appointees, passed the McGohlrick resolu- tion. which legalized all organizations hut those which cs- poused racial or religious hatred. The College suffered an irreparable loss when Professor Morris Raphael Cohen, an outstanding member of the faculty and a leading authority on the philosophy of law. resigned. The school-wide election was another Hitler Ballot . The fusion in New York City politics provided a model which was followed in the College. The Student Union ami the College Labor Parties nominated the same tickets ami swept the school. Jack London, Harold Both, ami Jack Fernbach be- came the Student Council's officers and Leon Katzen was elected without opposition to the class presidency. Between terms, the school was far from deserted. The Col- lege played host to the New York State Model Legislature. Eleven hundred delegates from Y’s, trade unions, ami cellar clubs attended the American Youth Congress' unicameral assembly. The spotlight of the convention was centered on Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who addressed a capacity audi- ence from the Great Hall platform. legislation on labor, public health, crime prevention, housing, education, ami peace was proposed, passed and submitted to Albany. Latenesses were more common than usual during the first week, for sex appeal had hit the College. Miss Gladys Lovinger found that the law had forgotten to forbid females in the School of Technology. Hunter’s loss was our gain. C.C.N.Y. Main Day became co-ed. Two new trustees were appointed by Mayor I iGuardia during the Spring. Chairman Mark Eisner resigned, to be replaced by Carmyn Lombardo, and Maurice Deichcs, long a member of the Board of Higher Education, passed away early in 1938. That genuinely liberal and sincere humani- tarian” was replaced by Mrs. George Z. Medalie. Idealistic Mrs. Medalie proceeded to take the College under her wing. Small articles describing speeches Mrs. Medalie delivered TK» Cr»3 Wor in Spoia. cootompo-rory wifh our Coll«g« co- re . found lh »fu- d f body • - uholmingly U sup- port of )li« toyotat covi (Mr). 23

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E-:-b t.'W (obove) oustod from Colum- bia College for demonstrot g in front of Nicholos Mwrroy Butler's ©fR », spoke of the College dospite odministrotlori oppositio . Having broadened considerably, tlie A.S.U. nominated many former Progressive Student Party men. and the ballot was practically void of opposition. Joseph Janovsky. Jack London, and Stanley Silvcrbcrg were elected President. Vice-President, ami Secretary of the Student Council respectively. Harold Kotli easily won the class presidency. As it must each term, exam week came again to the College. Put this exam week made tile front pages. .No sooner did vacation start, than the Fire Department took over the Main Building. Five fires were discovered in different rooms in one day. Valuable records went up in flames. The Times blamed pymmaniacs. The more original World-Telegram sug- gested that, since examination papers bail been burned, the blazes were caused by students who did not want their failures discovered. As usual, the Journal-American was sure it was red sabotage . Equally positive were the Communists that some subversive Trotskyite bad done the dire deed. IV Towards the end of the spring term. Editor Siissman of the Campus bad scored a Grade A “scoop with a story of a Co-op Store deficit. The charges were confirmed just before school closed, and over the summer an investigation was conducted. Always an object of derision, the Store’s high prices had already aroused student suspicion. Hut the College was enraged on hearing that Gmiinissioncr of Accounts Hlanshard bad uncov- ered a shortage of $51,000. As a result, the co-op was reorganized as the “City College Store , prices were lowered, and a new manager appointed. nli-Scuiilisni. spread by Hitler in Europe and more suhtlely by Coughlin in merica. made headway even in the College. The Hoard of Higher Education, in carrying out its policy of allowing complete freedom of speech, had ruled that any organization might meet on the grounds without official recognition. V group which called itself the American Guards was granted a permit. Numerous protests to the Hoard led to an investigation into the purposes of the club, and when charges of anti- Jewish programs were proven to lie well-founded, the by-law was changed so that anti-religious groups could not meet on College property. The remains of two magazines. Lavender and Clionian were put together, and Monthly appeared. From the start, the new literary effort n Siudor.ii o! »Wo Collogo gotk«r»d 1» espress tKoir support of frude» o«d liberal i-dco. (top): of o progressive moyor ond ooutK mo («ente»).

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n I) LI before clubs appeared in the jVcic Yuri; Times. The New York popu- lace Wiis informed that C-C..N.A. was nol a hot-lied of Coinniiinisin. but a good investment for the people of the city. A frequent visitor to Stu- dent Council meetings. Mrs. Medulie compelled that “august body to be- come a bit more decorous. beginning a semester with a $150 deficit was a new experience for the 39 Class Council, but it proceeded to take care of the lack of money by running more social functions than ever before. Holding two gym dances rather than the traditional one. the class successfully put over Statesman's Dance and later the Hick Hop (featuring Zeke Goldberg's balalaikas), besides a novel ticket, the latter dance was enriched by a cow (with Dave Goldman inside), a chicken, and a duck, and parsley in each of the four corners of Farmer William- son's barn, opposite the Little bed College , lastly, the class sponsored a theatre party to Haiti, the W.P.A. production. gain the most popular event of the term, the boatride outdid the previous years. “All-College was a fact, for Main and Commerce. Day and ICvening joined in the affair. Outdoing Hollywood publicity, the Com- mittee set the campus agog with girls, a monkey, a platinum blonde. “Pennies from Heaven” and a Tarzan beauty Contest. So great a sale resulted that the $.$. Mandalay had to be supplemented at the last minute by the S.S. IFaitkela. Sunday. May 22. was memorable in more than one way. Not only did the C.C.N.Y. flotilla dominate the river from the battery to bear Mountain, but also the day marked the last completed voyage of the Mandalay. The following week, on her first regular trip of Thontjgiving weet-ond »01 more tho' Pilgrim’s Progron to member» of tbo 39 dost Oi they enjoyod ono of the moil tvocettful Son lor Prom» In Co-logo krt- lory. On No ombtr 2S. 1931. fifteen lonion onnounced their engogemenli. 24